headman

[ hed-muhn, -man ]

noun

, plural head·men [hed, -m, uh, n, -men].

1. a chief or leader.
2. headsman.

headman

/ ˈhɛdmən /

noun

1. anthropol a chief or leader
2. a foreman or overseer

Word History and Origins

Origin of headman¹

before 1000; Middle English he ( ve ) dman, Old English hēafodman. See head, man

Example Sentences

Heimonmi Shylla, headman of the hamlet with about 500 households and a deacon, says almost all residents are Presbyterian, Catholic or members of the Church of God.

From Seattle Times

The village headman summoned her and said that by garlanding Nehru, she had become his bride.

From BBC

In 2016, a village headman who also doubled up as a driver, was taking around a team of University of Kerala archaeology students when he showed them the site.

From BBC

"After rains we would see bits of pottery and stuff coming to the surface. Some people would say there were ghosts here. But we had no idea that we were living next door to such a big graveyard," said Narayan Bhai Jajani, the former headman.

From BBC

Shortly before his own daughter’s birth, Mr. Jaglan had won an election as the village headman, and he was now determined to use his new role to begin a controversial campaign against the prenatal sex testing that he was sure was responsible for the alarming gender gap in his village, his state and many places across India.

From New York Times

Related Words

• bigwig
• boss
• tribal chief